Mechanized restaurant



32:11.27, 194s. T. LEwls L 2,435,044

MECHANIZED RESTAURANT Filed Nov. 27, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l. 6.1i0un06 Jan. 27, 1948.

T. M. LEWIS El" AL MECHANI ZED RESTAURANT Filed Nov. 27, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 )gIAlllll\Illllllllllllllllllllllllfilll Patented Jan. 27,1948

MECHANIZED RE STAURANT Thomas Maldwyn Lewis, Colne, Ernest Gerald Rounce, Airton, Skipton, and Charles Gerald Hubert Field Dunham, Ashbridge Park, Berkhampstead, England Application November 27, 1944, Serial No. 565,354 In Great Britain November 15, 1943 4 Claims. (Cl. 186-1) This invention has for its object to provide an improved construction and arrangement of a restaurant in order to expedite the delivery of meals and enable more meals to be served with the use of a given floor area than is at present possible.

In accordance with our invention, the customers are provided with seats and if desired footrests moving in a continuous manner along with a table or like surface, the different courses being placed upon the table at definite positions in the travel of the table so that when the traverse of any particular seat is completed, the occupant has completed his meal and may move to a seat in a lounge or the like to rest and/or to finish his meal with a coiiee or the like which may be supplied just before the said traverse is completed.

Referring to the accompanying explanatory drawings:

Figure 1 is a general view of the operative part of a restaurant constructed in one convenient form in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a detail side sectional view and Figure 3 and end sectional view showing the driving arrangements of the restaurant.

The restaurant illustrated comprises two endless conveyors a, b supported upon suitably spaced rollers c (Figure 2) in their upper lengths which serve as tables for the crockery, cutlery and food. There are two endless conveyors d supporting cushions or the like 6 with division arms J, which serve as seats for the persons using the restaurant. In addition there are endless conveyors or belts as g which serve as footrests for the people sitting on the cushions or seats 6.

The tables, seats and footrests travel at the same speed. In the drawings, the conveyors for the seats and feet are driven by drums h on a shaft 1 which is rotated by gearing 7', 70 from a Worm and worm wheel m and n. The latter also drives through gearing o, p, q (similar to the gearing n, k, j), the shaft 1 having thereon drums 8 (similar to the drums h) which drive the conveyors a, b.

When a person seats himself upon a seat e which is commencing to move from the right hand end of the restaurant as shown in Figure 1, the first course of a meal may be placed upon the conveyor a or b in front of him by a waitress moving in the space u between the two continuously moving conveyor tables a and b. The food may be obtained from an elevator indicated at '0. After the person has been at the table for a certain predetermined time during which he should have consumed the first course of his meal,

he will be supplied with his second course which may be obtained by the waitress from the elevator indicated at w. A further course may be subsequently supplied from the elevator .r.

The used crockery and cutlery may be removed from the table by the waitresses or may travel to the end of the table and be swept off the conveyor as it goes downwards to start its return traverse. Or it may be swept ofi at intermediate points by an arm disposed at an angle to the direction of travel of the table.

The courses of the meal may be supplied direct on to the tables by the elevators v, w and a: which may be geared to the tables and deliver a dish as each new seat comes into position adjacent to an elevator.

With our improvement, while each person will be allowed ample time at the tables to consume his meal, he will not occupy space required by those wanting a meal, when he has finished his meal. Our improved restaurant will therefore have a very high capacity. The restaurant may be in or adjacent to a lounge where customers may remain after completing their meals if they so desire.

What we claim is:

1. A restaurant comprising at least one endless conveyor constituting in its upper length a continuously moving continuous horizontal table, a stationary support arranged immediately beneath the upper length of the conveyor and extending substantially throughout the length and an endless conveyor at one side of said table and at a lower level than the table and constituting in its upper length a continuously moving horizontal line of seats, a stationary support for the upper length of the seat conveyor arranged immediately therebeneath the table and seats traveling at the same linear speed, and another endless conveyor constituting a foot-rest for the persons on the seats and moving continuously at the same speed as the table and seats.

2. A restaurant comprising two endless conveyors constituting in their upper lengths continuously moving horizontal tables with a gap between them, two endless conveyors at the outer sides of the said tables constituting in their upper lengths two horizontal lines of continuously moving seats for the persons using the tables, and two endless conveyors, each below and adjacent to a line of seats constituting footrests for the persons on the seats, the tables, seats and footrests travelling at the same linear speed.

3. A restaurant as claimed in claim 2, with ele- 'va tors in the gap between the tables to supply food for the tables. EFERENCES CITED 4. A restaurant as claimed in claim 2 wherein Y stationary connecting counters are situated at n m references are of record in the the respective ends of the table conveyors and 5 file of thls patent:

r comma" to the corre 0 din ends f th f n t Sp g 0 8 UNITED STATES PATENTS THOMAS Mime 5m LEWIS 7 Number Name Date ERNEST GERALD ROUNCE. 1 377 969 M CHARLES GERALD HUBERT FIELD 10 mean May 1921 ,DUNHAM. 1 ,949,468 Hackett Mar. 6, 1934 

